Photography by Drew Blackwell

“That’s good, be uncomfortable!” Brandon Kyle Goodman tells the conservative cis-het viewers and critics who have deemed Netflix’s animated favourite Big Mouth as too “crass” or “vulgar” for its unflinching depiction of LGBTQ+ narratives. “I’ve definitely seen the critiques where people are like, ‘It’s so gay, everyone’s gay, everyone’s queer.’ It’s like… yeah?” the self-described ‘actor, writer, activist and messy mom’ tells GAY TIMES over Zoom. “That’s real life too, baby.”

Following various film and TV appearances such as Prime Video’s Modern Love and Netflix’s Feel the Beat, the American comedian landed his breakthrough role in 2021 as a writer and voice actor on the fifth season of the streamer’s groundbreaking comedy, as well its spin-off Human Resources, which launched in March. Since its 2017 premiere, Big Mouth has been met with rave reviews for its portrayal of sex, the human body and the joyful, nuanced representation of LGBTQ+ characters and stories.

Living at the intersection of Black and non-binary, Brandon (who uses he/they pronouns) is determined to use his platform to represent marginalised voices in a world that doesn’t ‘love, value or protect’ them – one joke at a time. “I think we’re all better from diversity, and I think there’s such a fear around diversity and inclusivity, but we are better for understanding people’s experiences and other people’s humanities,” they explain. “I hope that becomes a value that Hollywood latches onto at some point. I think we’re beginning to, but we have a lot of work to do.”

With a sixth season of Big Mouth arriving this year, as well as a self-help book/memoir and two more television shows – “[Netflix] paying these bills mama, and I’m not mad!” he adds – we caught up with Brandon to discuss the aforementioned topics, their career so far and the rising queerification in animation.

Congratulations on the success of Human Resources. How have you found the reception to the series so far?

It’s been wonderful. It’s one of those things where, with animation, our show takes a year-and-a-half to make, so we’re already working on Big Mouth’s next season. It was weird to have it come out, but also really gratifying to hear all the messages and to hear that the Walter storyline with Yara has really been resonating with a lot of people. It’s been really beautiful.

It feels like we’re kind of ushering in a new era of television where animation, specifically, is flying the flag for the LGBTQ+ community. How much power do you think animation has on viewers at home, especially young queer viewers?

It has a ton. I think, in some ways, it’s underrated. There’s a reason that The Simpsons still exists. There’s a reason that some of these shows, Bob’s Burgers and Family Guy, have been on for so long because there is something that connects them to younger and older viewers. It does have power. I’m really excited that our show recognises that and understands that and uses it to expand what representation looks like. A lot of times in live-action, the excuses you get are that people won’t relate or we can’t find that person or we can’t find whatever. Animation, you can draw it. What do you mean? You can draw it. So, I think it has become this space where we can expand and have a little more fun. I also think comedy in general has been that. As an actor, I have often found that it was hard to find my place in drama and theatre because everything was very white and cis and het. It was actually in the world of improv and sketch and comedy where I was able to find some semblance of rooting and home. It makes sense that these animated comedies are where that expansion is happening.